* Dollar falls for third straight session
* Europe shares little changed
* U.S. economic data mixed, home resales drop sharply
(Updates to afternoon trading)
By Lewis Krauskopf
NEW YORK, Dec 22 (Reuters) - Wall Street climbed on Tuesday,
buoyed by energy shares as sliding oil prices stabilized and by
fairly healthy data on U.S. economic growth, while the dollar
fell for a third consecutive session.
U.S. crude prices CLc1 settled up 0.9 percent to $36.14 a
barrel. Brent LCOc1 fell 0.6 percent to $36.13 a barrel, after
trading higher earlier in the session.
Wall Street has been closely correlated with energy prices
in recent weeks as crude has extended a 1-1/2-year slide this
month and plumbed fresh multi-year lows.
"The oil price is still the big driver of market sentiment
at the moment for stock markets, but I'm not sure if it will
hold above those lows, given the concerns about a glut of
supply," said Hantec Markets' analyst Richard Perry.
The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI was up 143.31
points, or 0.83 percent, to 17,394.93, the S&P 500 .SPX gained
14.47 points, or 0.72 percent, to 2,035.62 and the Nasdaq
Composite .IXIC added 24.18 points, or 0.49 percent, to
4,993.10.
The S&P energy sector index .SPNY rose 1.4 percent, while
the materials group .SPLRCM also gained 1.4 percent and
industrials .SPLRCI rose 1.2 percent.
Noting that those three sectors are among those "that have
been blasted the most" this year, Mark Luschini, chief
investment strategist at Janney Montgomery Scott in
Philadelphia, said the stock rally "could be simply an oversold
bounce."
The pan-European stock index .FTEU3 edged down 0.04
percent. Spain's IBEX .IBEX rose 0.5 percent, rebounding
following a selloff in the previous session after an
inconclusive Spanish election result.
MSCI's all-country world index .MIWD00000PUS rose 0.6
percent.
Investors digested mixed data out of the United States.
U.S. home resales posted their sharpest drop in five years
in November, according to the National Association of Realtors,
in a potential warning sign for the U.S. economy.
A separate report from the Commerce Department showed the
country's gross domestic product grew at a 2.0 percent annual
pace in the third-quarter, a fairly healthy clip, supported by
strong consumer and business spending.
The U.S. economic growth and inflation data reinforced the
view that the Federal Reserve would proceed with a steady pace
of interest rate increases next year, which sent shorter-dated
Treasury yields modestly higher.
U.S. 30-year Treasury yields rose on the recovery in U.S.
crude oil prices, which suggested marginally higher inflation,
analysts said. Higher inflation tends to lead traders to sell
long-dated Treasuries since inflation erodes interest payouts on
those bonds.
"This data is a little better for the economy than expected,
so that makes it less likely that (the Fed's) tightening program
is going to be derailed," said David Coard, head of fixed income
sales and trading at Williams Capital Group in New York.
Benchmark 10-year Treasury notes US10YT=RR were down 11/32
in price to yield 2.2357 percent, from a yield of 2.197 percent
late on Monday. U.S. 30-year Treasury bonds US30YT=RR were
down 24/32 in price to yield 2.9619 percent, from a yield of
2.925 percent late on Monday.
The dollar index .DXY , which tracks the greenback against
a basket of currencies, fell 0.2 percent. The euro EUR= rose
0.5 percent against the dollar.
"There's a lack of clear momentum for the dollar in the past
week," said Brian Dangerfield, currency strategist at RBS (L:RBS)
Securities in Stamford, Connecticut.
Spot gold XAU= slipped 0.5 percent after two sessions of
gains.
Copper CMCU3 fell 1.2 percent as traders were reluctant to
push the metal above Monday's five-week peak given slowing
economic growth in China.